On Feb. 10th, hawkish Jordanian politician Abdul Hadi Al Majali passed away. The cause of his death was due to COVID-19 complications. While it is normal for authoritarian regimes to have senior pillars passing away, in the case of Abdul Hadi, his death has huge implications for the country, crown and Jordanians in general.
Abdul Hadi was from Kerak, a small town 80 miles south of Amman, the nation’s capital. It is known as a pillar of the Hashemite Kingdom because Kerak has a tradition of producing the most influential and trusted officials and security henchmen for the Hashemites – a family of just over 80 individuals.
Al Majali’s family consists of about 5,000 people, and makes up about 10% of Kerak’s population. For decades, the family has been entrusted by the Hashemites to control the country’s intelligence and security apparatus. For example, when the late King Hussein fought against the Palestinian Fedayeen in 1970, the Jordanian army’s Chief of Staff was Habis Al Majali, Abdul Hadi’s cousin.
Because Kerak natives have dominated most senior government jobs in the Hashemite kingdom, they have remained the most privileged minority in the country thanks to the King’s “grants”. Known as “Makromah”, they include special scholarships for their children’s education, fancy cars, and land with luxurious homes. That made Abdul Hadi the de facto leader of the strongest and 2nd most dominant family in Jordan, after the ruling Hashemites.
Abdul Hadi and his two brothers, Abdul Salam And Abdul Hai, are good examples of the privilege and standing that the family (and the Kerak natives) has in the country. Abdul Hadi, an Engineer by trade, served as Jordan’s Minister of Public Works and Housing, Assistant Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of Jordan, and Jordan’s Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Jordan. Additionally he was Jordan’s Ambassador to the United States (1981), Director of Public Security (Jordan’s police) from 1985 to 1989 and despite having no policing experience to speak of, ventured into business despite having no clear experience or history. Eventually, he obtained a seat in Parliament and became Jordan’s “Speaker of the House” for over 14 years.
His brother Abdul Salam, a physician, served as the Prime Minister during the time Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel. During that time he used to brag: “I have saved Jordan from becoming Palestine by leading the peace agreement with Israel”. Just like his brother Abdul Hadi, he was hawkish and sought to prevent the Palestinian majority from ever having their say in the country. As for Abdul Hai, he ran the business side for the family, turning the originally impoverished household into self-described billionaires.
What distinguishes Abdul Hadi from his two brothers and other senior Keraki officials is his intelligence and apparent narcissism. He was able to manipulate the King himself, which gave him the ability to navigate Jordanian politics in ways that allowed him to openly enforce and endorse his radical East Bank politics against the Jordanian Palestinian majority. For example, Abdul Hadi has advocated sustaining the unfair make up of the Jordanian Parliament, which barely gives 8 million Palestinians just over 10 seats, while Kerak, a city of 50,000 at best, gets 10 parliamentary seats.
Additionally, all through his political career, Abdul Hadi was opposed to the naturalization of children of Jordanian women born to non-Jordanian parents, as well as being against a variety of political reforms – even those that could have given the Palestinian majority the slightest access to power elements within the government, Parliament and media.
After Hussein’s death in 1999, Hadi and his two brothers, Abdul Salam and Abdul Hai, began dominating business projects by taking contracts, licenses and major construction projects from the Jordanian government thanks to their influence, despite not being competitive themselves. To make matters worse, once they ‘won the contract’ they would usually subcontract the project to a Palestinian who would do it for minimal pay while they reaped in the profits and political “kudos”.
Eventually, this practice allowed two of the brothers to become what can only be considered “economic menaces” – often bullying (forcing) their way into lucrative government contacts thanks to the full support of the Royal Family. In 2000, Abdul Hadi spread the rumour that he was going to celebrate “his first billion dollars” in style by hosting a lavish party in Spain, and let it be known to everyone who would listen that he was going to be “flying his guests there in private jets”.
In a long run, the strongman reputation didn’t help Abdul Hadi, who rapidly became one of Jordan’s most hated politicians. He was so hated that the Palestinians knew he was their enemy and the East Bankers were jealous of him and hateful of his family, “Majali”, who had been the King’s strong henchmen treating most Jordanians like sheep. In addition, Hadi has led the loyalist anti-opposition rhetoric for years, cracking down ruthlessly on East Banker who oppose the regime and isolating them socially and shaming them in a society where reputation and image mean the most.
As his power grew, even the King himself had his own confrontations with Abdul Hadi, taking his radical East Jordanian rhetoric as far as he could: by questioning the King’s actions, as well as his family’s.
In 2011 the King began clipping Hadi’s wings. Nonetheless, Abdul Hadi remained an icon for radical East Bankers in particular and the Jordanian East Bank public in general.
Abdul Hadi death comes at a time the King has lost all forms of credibility with the East Bank minority, is facing growing anxiety and resistance from his subjects at home, the Jordanian economy is in a shambles and he has lost face with many of the region’s leaders. At the same time, hatred for him with Jordanians with Palestinian heritage has grown steadily thanks to two decades of oppression and total disregard for their rights enforced by the King himself. At the same time, the East Bankers have been reduced to poverty, and treated by the King’s heavy hand, which the Al Majali family represents.
Hence, Abdul Hadi’s death is a blow to the Monarchy and their “iron fist rule”. According to a former Jordanian government minister and a friend of Abdul Hadi himself, “This clearly was the last thing the king needed today, as Al Majali family remains one of the Hashemites de facto partners in ruling the country”.
What is most significant is the fact that Abdul Hadi has no political heir. His son, Sahil, whose mother is Syrian, is mostly concerned with business and has had marital problems that have dominated the past ten years of his life.
This is good news for the Palestinian majority and East Bank minority, because the absence of the leader of Jordan’s most ruthless family can only mean that there is one less obstacle standing in the way of them gaining their freedom and a peaceful regime change, a change openly advocated by the opposition’s de facto leader, Mudar Zahran.
This does not mean Jordan’s Palestinian majority will be ruling their country any time soon, but it does mean that the East Bankers radical “patriotic” elements have lost the very last capable motivator and instigator for them to take any meaningful action when the change comes to the country. It also means the King has lost one of his staunch supporters, a supporter that he can never replace.